Last week I wrote a blog on top tips for women wanting to achieve a better body this week it's the mens turn.
Wanting to achieve a better body takes more than just lifting the heaviest weight possible and calories in vs calories out. You have to be willing to continuously learn and seek guidance from professionals. If you are ready to learn how to achieve a better body then lets dive in….
Lose The Ego - This may not apply to everyone but it does apply to most men, men have an ego they like to keep in tact and prove how strong they are. Lifting the heaviest amount of weight possible to either prove to themselves or peers is how most guys train. To achieve a better body it takes more than just shifting heavy weight. When performing an exercise with the heaviest weight possible you sacrifice your form and stimulating your muscles to their full potential. Just lifting the weight isn’t enough to build a great body you need to lighten the weight and tense your muscles as hard as you can to lift it. Lets take lifting your palm to your shoulder (a bicep curl motion but without the weight). You can either lift your hand to your arm with zero effort or you can tense your bicep as much as you can to get it there. By doing it this way you are making it more difficult without any weight but will stimulate your muscle much greater than if you were to just lift it. Try reducing the weight in your next workout but focus on tensing your muscles as much as you can to lift the weight instead.
Track Your Calories - Most guys tend to not bother tracking their calories, they tend to guess, or believe they can out train a bad diet. If you don’t know how many calories you are putting in your body or how many you are burning, how do you know if you are eating the correct amount. Download a calorie counting app and spend a minimum of 4 weeks tracking everything you eat and drink to ensure you know what you are putting in your body. Guess work is not going to give you the best version of you and the body you are seeking.
Don’t Be Scared You Will Look Like Arnie - Again this won’t apply to every guy but there are so many I have spoken to who fear they are going to look like Arnold from lifting weights a few times a week. This is like being too scared to drive a car incase you end up like Lewis Hamilton or cooking a meal now and again and ending up like Gordon Ramsey, it ain’t gonna happen. What will happen is you will become stronger, prevent osteoporosis, look better naked and weight loss will become easier. Don’t fear weights embrace them and their benefits.
Make Non Negotiable’s - Make weekly non negotiable’s to achieve your goals. This could be that you will work out a minimum or three times per week, that you’ll eat healthy 85% of the time, walk a minimum of thirty minutes per day. It could be anything that helps you achieve your goals, without these you are more likely to slip off track. My three non negotiable are exercise four times per week (three weights), work on my mobility fives times per week and learn something new five times per week. These are things I make sure I stick to and tick off every week. Start with one non negotiable then once it becomes a solid habit add another.
Don’t Become Obsessed With The Scales - Like women men can focus on their weight too often and fail to notice everything else going on. No joke I have seen many guys weigh themselves three to five times in a single gym session, you aren’t losing weight or fat in an hour, it doesn’t work like that. Start taking measurements and progress pictures (in fact if any women are reading this you need to do the same). Measurements and pictures are the best way to see whats going on. Back to just the guys if your waist is going down but your chest, arms, legs and weight is going up surely thats a plus right? Where as if you are focused on the scales your waist potentially could be staying the same and your arms and chest are becoming smaller. Yet the scales are telling you your weights going down so you believe this to be progress?
Train Like Time Is Scarce - This doesn’t mean rushing your workout and every set. What this does mean is you stop stalling in-between every set or sitting on your phone or have a full blown conversation every time you put the weights down. In my experience it is generally guys who dawdle in the gym, after every set the phone is out for five minutes before returning to their exercise. This is sacrificing your progress and your spare time. The higher you can keep your heart rate the more calories you are going to burn, the less rest you take the more you can overload your muscles and promote growth. Our bodies adapt under stress if you aren’t challenging your muscles to be stressed they will never adapt and grow. Train like you have fifteen minutes less than your usual session, you will see yourself achieve greater progress and have more free time.
Focus On Protein - No not protein shakes, natural sources of protein. Generally its women who tend to under eat protein but personally I have never met a guy who is eating too much protein. If you are trying to drop body fat you should be in a calorie deficit, protein helps fill you up more than carbs and fats, so by focussing on getting a higher protein intake will help reduce your hunger levels. Now you are focussing on building muscle you will need to help your body repair and build muscle so by ensuring you consume plenty of protein you will prevent muscle wastage. Aim for 0.8-1g of protein per lb of body weight, if you weigh 160lb you should aim for 128-160g of protein.
Enjoy It - Working out to achieve a better body should be fun not boring. Find out what you enjoy most and stick to it, don’t get boring and hard mixed up. Enjoying it doesn’t mean it will be easy, it’s not and it does take hard and dedicated work to achieve great results. There will be days you can’t be bothered to train but you must either persist through or make the day up later in the week. There will be days you want to eat poorly but I would recommend avoiding it. If you cant’t avoid it make sure you reduce your calories for the rest of the week or train two extra days.
There you have it my top tips to achieve a better body shape.
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